First Foreign National Employee Joins Fully Remote Development Team! Engineer H from Ukraine Joins Quarc Inc.

NPO WELgee (Representative Director: Yota Anzai, hereinafter "WELgee") is pleased to announce that H, a national of Ukraine who was supported by WELgee in their pursuit of employment in Japan, has joined Quarc Inc. (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo / President and CEO: Hideyuki Maekawa, hereinafter "Quarc") as an IT engineer as of July 1, 2026.

Quarc's development team operates fully remotely, and this marks the first time they have welcomed a member who is not a native Japanese speaker. This is the first case of a non-native Japanese speaker being welcomed as a member of the development team in an environment with almost no opportunities for in-office work.

Quarc is a company that is pioneering the field of Certification Lifecycle Management (CLM). They develop and provide "Qualif," a platform that supports the entire process related to certifications, from application to learning, examination, certification, and renewal. They also broadly engage in supporting corporate human resource development from behind the scenes, including the creation of learning content and training materials, and the construction and operational support of LMS/TMS.

H studied software development and artificial intelligence at a university and vocational school in Ukraine, and then worked as an engineer using Unity (C#) and Java in game development for approximately 5 years. Due to the situation in their home country, returning became difficult, and while seeking a career in Japan, H encountered Quarc through WELgee's employment support program "WELgee Talents." After several online interviews, H began working with the company, learning the Go language anew based on their existing Java experience.

Comment from Hideyuki Maekawa, President and CEO of Quarc Inc.

We are extremely pleased to welcome H to Quarc's development team.

For a small company like ours, welcoming someone with a refugee background as a development member initially felt like a very significant undertaking. We honestly had concerns about whether we could accept a non-native Japanese speaker into our fully remote development team.

However, by taking that first step, things gradually began to take shape through H's own efforts and positive attitude, the careful support from everyone at WELgee, and the warm cooperation of the development members who welcomed H. H's sincere approach to new technologies and environments was the biggest reason for this hiring.

Furthermore, this acceptance has brought about positive changes within ourselves. We have begun to articulate and document tasks and development assumptions that were previously based on tacit knowledge. This is not only for H but also serves as an important catalyst for reviewing the team's overall work processes.

We feel that taking a step, even within our capabilities, has meaning, even for a small company. Through this experience, we have come to feel this. While creating an environment where H can feel secure and demonstrate their abilities, we aim for Quarc to become a more diverse and stronger development team.

Comment from Yuki Sakashita, Career Coordinator, Employment Support Division, WELgee

Fully remote, first foreign national member, and the Go language, which was new to H. This was a hiring process that involved several challenging elements for both Quarc and H. To be honest, there were moments of doubt about whether it would work out.

However, once we started, very little of what we worried about actually happened. Instead, there were many instances where H's diligence and proactive attitude were helpful. Learning a new language while diving into a new way of working. It couldn't have been easy, but as the person in charge, I am very happy that we were able to reach this formal hiring after overcoming these hurdles.

I want to continue to cheer on both H, who has overcome each hurdle, and Quarc, who has embraced H.

◎ Overview of Quarc Inc.

Representative: Hideyuki Maekawa, President and CEO

Headquarters: SHIBUYA SOLASTA 3F, Dogenzaka 1-21-1, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Business Activities: Development and provision of the Certification Lifecycle Management (CLM) platform "Qualif"; support for corporate human resource development (development of learning content and training materials, construction and operational support of LMS/TMS, etc.)

URL: https://quarc.co.jp/

◎ Overview of NPO WELgee

Aiming for a society where everyone can build a future together regardless of their circumstances, WELgee provides services that enable individuals who have fled to Japan from persecution or conflict in their home countries to create value in companies while pursuing their career and life goals. Beyond their background as "refugees," WELgee works in collaboration with diverse stakeholders, including companies, economic organizations, and government bodies, to help them rebuild their lives in Japan by leveraging their individual strengths. The goal is to make co-creation with people who have refugee backgrounds a standard in Japanese society.

◎ Definition of Refugee

Refugees are defined as "persons who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, are outside the country of their nationality and are unable or, owing to such fear, are unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that country." (Source: UNHCR, Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its Protocol). In recent years, with guidelines from UNHCR and other sources, the mainstream international practice has been to also provide protection to people who have been forced to migrate due to conflict, gender issues, or climate change.

◎ WELgee's Approach to "Refugees"

As the backgrounds and social situations that give rise to refugees diversify and become more complex, many people beyond the traditional definition of refugees are forced to leave their home countries. WELgee's activities target individuals who are in a state where they cannot return to their home countries due to the danger to their lives, and this includes recognized refugees, asylum seekers, subsequent refugees (such as former international students who are unable to return home), and displaced persons.

◎ WELgee's Stance on Activities

WELgee views "refugees" not only as subjects of protection but as individuals with their own aspirations and experiences. Rather than solely aiming for official refugee status recognition by the government, WELgee undertakes initiatives to increase the options for refugees to rebuild their lives.